Splash deck assembly for cooling towers



Oct. 5, 1943. L. 'r. MART SPLASH nfi'cx ASSEMBLY FOR COOLING TOWERS Filed m 21,.1941 KSheets-Sheet 1 20/7 I 7 Mahf' Oct. 5, 43. L. 'r. MART SPLASH DECK ASSEMBLY- FOR .GQOLING TOWERS Filed Nov'. 21, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 120/? TAX/am iro/ask Oct. 5, 1943.

L T. MART SPLASH DECK ASSEMBLY FOR COOLING TOWERS Filed Nov. 21, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Oct. 5, 1943 UNITED .isi'mrs s srmsnD-Eoit'zissmmw FOR COOLING rownlts Leon *1};ivIart lflission-Township; Johnson Count-y Kama, ass'ignorto The Marley; Company, lnc Kansas'oity, KaiisZ, a corporation of Kansas .j Application November 21, 1M1, N6f419922 V "re-clams; (0112614211);

This invention relates to heat exchanging equipment and particularly apparatus wherein water is cooledby breaking the same into ainiyiri- Bd m-particles or zglobules and allowed to"drop by gravity upon a number of spill :slats arranged in-a current of'air thatcustomarily travels in a direction different than that of. the falling water.

The primary object of this invention :is the provision of a cooling tower of the aforementioned character wherein the entire splashdeok assembly is comprised of interlocking parts, capable of maintaining themselves in operative posie tion without the employment of. screws, nails,

bolts or other fastening means thatmust be placed with special tools when the deck isassembled at the point of use. V p

A yet further aim of this invention is the provisionof a splash'deck assembly for cooling tow-- ers, the spill slats,- spill slat supports and tie bars of which are all pI'OVided \vith shoulders posed to preclude accidental displacement, after the said parts have been erected within a frame piiividedfor'the reception of the splash deck.

invention has for an even further aim the provision of a portable spi'a' deck assembly, the parts-or which alinte'r'lockd to maintain rigidity wherein a riumber orspin slats are nonzontauy placed upon" supports, the latter beingf'in stacked relation-and disposed tavern-cal planes, and a portion of which are "offset to create a number-or longitudinal ducts, one above the other, and instag'gered relation.

l large numberor minor objectsof this inven- =ria t s an -'enlalrgedfragmentary perspective stretch-out view of a portion 6f-asplas'h deck assembly inade to embody a still further modified form ofthe invention and illustrating the manner of interlocking the com onent parts ther of;

' It is we'll-known in the art that water being cooled must be broken into a large number-of droplets orstreams' and'tha'tthe finer the water is brokemdiiri'ng its gravitation fromthe top to the bottom of the toolingtower; the greater the heat exchange that mignt occur, and thererore, the-higher the-'efiiciencyf tlie equipm nti Cooling towersand -splash decks', therefore,

nayeconventionally-emmoyea a-number of spill 'slat's angmmgmupsoneabove the other 'and prising standardsshat each corner thereofpand the upper and lower horizontal ti-e memberstl ll and I! "extend longitudinally and transversely J respectivelycfthe framet Closed-walls along tin in-ust or necessity" appear during the course H of the followingspeciflcation, because the way of fabricating the-component parts of the splash deck assembly is important and-will be recognized ascontributing :to the above broad objectsof my invention. y 1

In the accompanying drawingsz- Fig, l is a top plan view of a cooling tower having splash deck assembly made in accordance with the presentinvention. 7

1 2. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view 'thifough'the same.

Fig. 3' is a vertical transverse sectional view *talieiion line"3'3 of'Fig.2. I I

Fig. 4"is an enlarged detail fragmentary perfspefitiife view of a portion of the splash deck assembly, illustrating the mannero-f interlocking theunit'stnereor.

Fig. '5 is a vertical transversecross sectional view throug a coonng'tower having the. splash eel: assembly made'inaccordance 'witha inediznearo'rmortheinvenuomand each of two'opposite-longitudinal vertical sides-0f frar'neli,establishes, with-traylli and sump [8 a lpassageto'r ithe flowt'of-air. Air currents through -the=splash deck move inltheeclirection of thearrows shown..-in:Fig's. l and. 2., and thereby intersect.the finely' divided.streams or drops of water that gravitate from tray It to sump '58; Tray '16 isiprovided -with;a-number-of perforations 20 in the :bottom thereof and serve to break the water from supp1y=pipe 22 into streams that may immediately thereafter ,be'fur-ther broken by an underlying splash deck composed-of transverse slats 2t secured to strip 26 on -tie member I 0.

The splash deck assembly per se includes a .pluralityof spill-slats 28 at least partially bridging thedistancebetween sidewalls I4 and resting upon spill -s1at supports 30. Spill slat supports are fiatpiecesi offmaterial, suchas redwood, and

rest in stacked-relation,1 one above the other, as illustrated Fig. "3, when the deck is in place. Tihefupper edge of each support islprovided with shoulders formedbynotching supports 30inwardly from the edges of strips I and when spacer I06 is positioned, it too is held in operative place without the employment of fixtures of any character other than the integral parts thereof and those formed on strips I00. The continuity of V the vertical faces of spill slat supports is thereby broken and in addition, a quantity of material is saved through the usebf strips I00 rather than be more fully hereinafter set down, by reference to the modified form in Fig. 5.

When spill slats 28 are in notches 34, lateral. movement thereof is' precluded and if the slats tend to move longitudinally, the ends thereof will strike walls I4 and thereby'maintain slats 28 in the operative position.

Tie bars 36 extend between standards 8 and solid spillslat supports 30'.v 1

The manner of interlocking the parts illustrated in Fig. 6, is precisely the same as set forth above, and therefore, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art, the manner in which a splash deck assembly, made in accordance with this invention, might be quickly, eifectively and convenientlyifabricated and erected. Its efficiency is desirable from the standpoint of economy in material and time, and while two forms of splash the ends thereof engage shoulders 38 thereon.

These shoulders 38 may be created by forming the standard as shown in Figs. l and 4, or by fasteninga strip thereto.

Each tie barhas a notch 40 formed inwardlyfrom its normally upper face and a notch 42 formed inwardly, from its-normally lower face. These notches receive the proximal edges-of spill slat supports 30. andthereby preclude lateral movement thereof. The upper edge of each support 30 has a notch 44ito receive tie bars 36.

' This notch 44 enters notch 42 and cooperates therewith to form an interlocking structure 'precluding-lateral displacement of either spill slat supports 30 or tie bars,.36. Since tie-bars 36 have their ends against shoulders 38 of standards 8, they cannot move longitudinally. and therefore; a rigid, interlocked splash deck assembly is created without theuse of metallic fastening means, brackets,'or means otherthan the integral structure formed as a part of elements, 30 and 35. a.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 5, all parts heretofore described are precisely the same with the exception of the disposition-of spill slat supports 30., Inthe preferred embodiment of theqinvention, these spill slat supports lie in anumber of longitudinal spaced apart planes within frame 6 and between walls I4. In' some instances the faces of spill slat supports become covered with splashing water and a sheet therefore is formed that is objectionable in-fthat heat exchange with the air does not occur. x

In Fig. 5 the plurality of vertically stacked spill slat supports .arelgrouped, andeach group is offset with' respect to the other to thereby break into relatively small areas, the facesof the walls composed of supports .30. Thus, when water collects onthe faces. ofa group of .sup-

ports 30, it will run onto the underlying spill slats 23 and be broken into a spray before it reaches sump I8. v v

A further manner of bi'eakingthe sheet of water that has a tendency to collect on the spill slat supports, is' illustrated inFig. 6. Allof the parts of the structure shown in this-figure are related as hereinabove described. 1

The specific form of eac'h'spill slat support however, is different from the form shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive-in thismodification, each spill slat support comprises a pair of spaced apart strips I00, the uppermost ofwhich has notches I02 and I04 for the reception 'of'spill slats28 and 36 respectively. Spacer blocks I06 provided with dowels I08, hold strips I00 in spaced relation. 'Each dowel I08 enters a socket I I0 formed in decks embodying my invention have been illustrated and described, it is desired to be limited only by the spirit of theinvention and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Let'- ters Patent is: g

l. Asplash deckassembly for lcooling towers comprising a plurality of spill slats; a plurality of spill slat" supports having notches formed therein for receiving the spill slats to prevent displacement of the slats in one direction; a series of tie bars positioned at an'angl'e to said supports and having notches therein for receiving said supports to interlock therewith to hold the latter against lateral displacement and a plu-' comprising spaced apart standards; a plurality 'ofspill slats between the standards; a plurality of spill slat supports provided with notches for receiving the spill slats; and a series of tie bars formed to interlock with the said supports to hold the latter against lateral displacement, said tie bars having the ends thereof" against the standards jto" preclude longitudinal movement thereof, said spill slat supports having'shoulders thereon in engagement with the tie bars to prevent lateral'shifting thereof. f

3. A splash deck assembly for coolingtowers comprising spaced sidewalls; a plurality of spill slats bridging a substantial portion of the space betweensaid'side walls; a plurality of spill slat supports in stacked relation-between the walls; and'a series of tie bars having their ends in abutting relation withthe walls, intersecting the said supports, the saidtie bars and the supports having interlocking integral structure precluding lateral movement 01 either the tie bars or supports when the same are assembled between the said walls.

' 6:. A splash deck assembly for cooling towers comprising spaced's'ide walls; a plurality of "spill slats bridging a substantial portion of, the space between said side walls; aplurality of, spill'slat supports in stacked relation between the walls; and aseries of tie bars having their ends in abutting relation with the walls, intersecting the said supports, the said'tie bars and the supports ,having interlocking integral structure precluding lateral movement of either the tie bars or supports when the same areassembled between the Said walls said -i a i shoulders nitshaving interlocking integral structure precluding lateral movement of either the tie bars-or supports when the same are assembled between the said walls, said supports having notches therein for receiving the spill slats to hold the sam against lateral movement.

6. A splash deck assembly for cooling towers comprising spaced side walls; a plurality of spill slats bridging a substantial portion of the space between said side walls; a plurality of spill slat supports in stacked relation between the walls; and a series of tie bars having their ends in abutting relation with the walls, intersecting the said supports, the said tie bars and the supports having interlocking integral structure precluding lateral movement of either the tie bars or supports when the same are assembled between the said walls, said supports having notches therein for receiving the spill slats to hold the same against lateral movement, said spill slats being extended between adjacent supports when in the notches and being sufllciently wide to hold the adjacent supports in spaced apart relation.

I 7. A splash deck assembly for cooling towers comprising spaced side walls; a plurality of spill slats bridging a substantial portion of the space between said side walls; a plurality of spill slat supports in stacked relation between the walls; and a series of tie bars having their ends in abutting relation with the walls, intersecting the said supports, the said tie bars and the supports having interlocking integral structure precluding lateral movement of either the tie bars or supports when the same are assembled between the said walls, said spill slat supports being disposed in a number of spaced apart vertical planes between the walls to divide the space into ducts.

8. A splash deck assembly for cooling towers comprising spaced side walls; a plurality of spill slats bridging a substantial portion of the space between said side walls a plurality of spill slat supports in stacked relation between the walls; and a series of tie bars having their ends in abuttingrelation with the walls, intersecting the said supports, the said tie bars andthe supports having interlocking integral structure precluding lateral movement of either the tie bars or supports when the same are assembled between the said walls, said spill slat supports being disposed in a number of spaced apart vertical planes be tween the walls to divide the spaceinto ducts,

certain of the supports in each plane being offset with respect to theremaining supports in that plane.

9. A splash deck assembly for. cooling towers comprising a plurality of spill slats; a plurality of spill slat supports having shoulders formed thereon engaging the spill slats to-prevent transverse displacement thereof; and a series of tie bars formed'to interlock with the said supports to hold the latter against lateral displacement, each of the supports comprising a pair of strips and a plurality of spacers therebetween.

10. A splash deck assembly for cooling towers comprising a plurality of spill slats; a plurality of spill slat" supports having shoulders formed thereon engaging the spill slats to prevent transverse displacement thereof; and a series of tie bars formed to interlock with the said supports to hold the latter'against lateral displacement, each of the supports comprising a pair of strips and a plurality of spacers therebetween, said strips and the spacers having integral, interlocking parts formed thereon. v

- 11. In a splash deck assembly, a plurality of transverse spill slats; a plurality of spill slat supports each having notches in the upper edge thereof for receiving the spill slats to preclude lateral displacement thereof, the lower edges of said supports being straight and unbroken to rest upon the underlying spill slats; and a series of tie bars having notches in the upper and lower edges thereof to receive the edges of the spill slat supports to prevent lateral displacement thereof. 12. In a splashdeck assembly, a plurality of transverse spill slats; a plurality of spill slat supportseach having notches in the upper edge thereof for receiving the spill slats to preclude lateral displacement thereof, the lower edges of said supports being straight and unbroken to rest upon the underlying spill slats; and a series of tie bars having notches in the upper and lower edges thereof to receive the edges of the spill slat supports to prevent lateral displacement thereof, said supports being notched to receive the tie bars to preclude lateral displacement thereof when the supports are in the notches of the tie bars.

13. A splash deck assembly for cooling towers comprising spaced side walls; a, plurality of spill slats bridging the space between, the side Walls and prevented thereby from longitudinal movement; a plurality of spill slat supports substantially parallel with the side walls and disposed transversely of the spill slats; and integral, interlocking structure on the spill slats and said sup- I ports precluding lateral movement of any of the same after the splash deck is assembled.

LEON T. MART. 

